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This image of a painter in his studio shows one of the new kinds of artistic identity that emerged during the 19th century. The artist is presented as an urbane young gentleman, a distinctly modern figure. His rather foppish persona contrasts with the workshop-like setting. The portrait presents the artist as a man of fashion, rather than as an artisan or labourer, or even as a sober professional, roles that had dominated the self-portrait tradition in the past.